India to refit Navy flagship at no cost

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 25 May 2005, 21:06 GMT]The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) said an Indian naval delegation consisting of top
engineers and architects is visiting the island to discuss the refitting of
the SLN flagship ‘Sayura.’ The ship is to be refitted in a naval dockyard in
India, the SLN said.

During President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s official visit of to India in
December 2004, the Indian government had agreed to carry out the refit of
‘Sayura’ in India at no cost to Sri Lanka, the SLN said.

The ‘Sayura,’ an offshore patrol vessel (OPV) was purchased from Indian Navy
in 1998 and served as the Sri Lanka Navy flagship and in off-shore
surveillance operations, the SLN said.